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Orepuki
Orepuki '''is a ghost town in Southland, New Zealand. It is a small township on the coast of Te Waewae Bay, 20 minutes from Riverton, 15 minutes from Tuatapere, and 50 minutes from Ivercargill. It was once a thriving gold mining settlement of 3000 people, but today, Orepuki is a ghost town with abandoned stores, gold mining relics and sluicing scars as the only reminders of its past glory. '''Description Appearance Orepuki wears a ragged dress with leather pants, sleeves that have holes within them. They wear a large scarf that covers half of their face and ends it with brown leather boots. They are normally seen wearing this as their casual outfit. When not in casual, they are normally seen wearing old ragged miner outfits and go mining. Like all ghost towns, Orepuki can shapeshift. She can shapeshift into a ferret as they are silent and have a lot of agility. When seen, people will start to surround her and kinda call her adorable, which will result in a scratch to the face. Personality They are quiet and have a split personality. They normally stay quiet around others, but can easily snap at someone in just a moment. When alone, they will instantly become less quiet but more talkative towards others which are their family members. Interests They are normally interested in mining, otherwise, they are mostly walking around, listening to nothing but silence. They are mostly mining, searching for gold, as well as many different stones and jewels. History Tsunami attack Orepuki was according attacked by a tsunami, killing several Ngati Mamoe Maori in the 1820s. They were gathering fish at the Waiau River in autumn as provisions for the winter period. The beach runs between the sea and a line of cliffs meaning that only a moderate tsunami 2-4 meters high would have been needed to cause so many deaths. The likely source of the tsunami could have been an earthquake on the Fiordland or Puysegur faults. There are questions around the exact date of this event as it is reliant entirely on unverified unnamed sources. Orepuki noted European sealer John Boultbee noted in 1827 that there was an "old and small" Māori village situated near present-day Orepuki. It seems likely that any trace of this village was washed away by later gold miners and their sluicing activities. The English translation of 'Orepuki' has been subject to numerous theories: Aro-puke or 'crumbling cliffs' being one of the more popular suggestions. In 1923, Henry P. Young, the former headmaster of Orepuki School, said in a talk to the Southland Branch of the N.Z. Society, published in the Southland Times, "the proper name is "Aropaki" and means a bright area or expanse." In Ngā ingoa o Aotearoa: an oral dictionary of Māori placenames, recorded in 1992, local kaumātua George Te Au offers as pronunciations both Ore-PUki and ō-RĀpaki. Orepuki beginning and fall The European origins of Orepuki township begin with the discovery of gold in the beaches of black sand in 1865. The first tent town of Hirstfield sprung up near Monkey Island (in the lee of which ships anchored). Several years later a slightly more permanent second township was constructed to the north of the present-day village, known as Garfield. Mining operations, however, dictated that this site was on gold-bearing land and the people and their houses, including the school, shifted to the present site to allow further mining. On 25 May 1885, a branch line railway was opened to Orepuki, providing it with swift transport to Invercargill. On 1 October 1903, a further extension beyond Orepuki was opened and the line ultimately became the Tuatapere Branch. The section of line between Riverton and Tuatapere closed on 30 July 1976. Orepuki station building still stands, relocated to serve other purposes on a farmer's paddock. Other industries to have operated in Orepuki include sawmilling, coal mining, shale works, a smelter to extract the platinum, a flax mill, and farming which remains the main industry today. An array of old buildings still exist and currently, the township supports a pub, a bowling green, a community hall, a church, and a primary school that was closed in 2003. Foreign Relationships Geography Orepuki is made up out of many farms, including sheep, dairy, and deer. It generally geographically said, Pahia lies between the thick, forest-covered Longwood range the Tasman sea. There are outlooks in places over the Te Waewae Bay and the Princess Mountains. Relationships Family Martins Bay — Brother Port Craig — Brother Port Pegasus — Sister Southland — Father Friends Invercargill — "We only speak when needed to. Not like we hate each other or such... She tries her best to be kind, warm-hearted, but she always says things that always offend me in such ways." Bluff — "Haven't met her yet, but seen pictures from Dad." Gore — "I've seen his planes fly above me, but then they instantly leave they sight my town. Meh." Neutral Lumsden — "We have our disagreements and agreements, nothing special." Riverton/Aparima — "We've never met her/him before, but heard they are non-binary." Tuatapere — "He never has time for us, so we never have time for him." Winton — "Met him once, never saw him again" Oban — "L-Let's just skip... alright?" Enemies UnknownCategory:Ghost Towns